My No Guilt Life

I have caused suffering. We all have. We try so hard to not harm. But it’s impossible. For example, my thoughts on being vegan or vegetarian were to be innocent of shedding blood. To not stop another’s life. It sounds noble. It sounds wise. And one day we may all be able to live without causing harm to other beings just to survive. There is another side to the “plants only” diet. Agriculture. Whether we farm thousands of acres or raise herds of cattle, we still do harm. To the environment, to the habitat, and to the creatures who live there.

It is a baby’s nature to be born. That baby that was born didn’t think of the pain she caused. She didn’t try to be gentle. She herself wasn’t in control, but the timing of nature was propelling her to be born. The child in the act of being born is surviving and thriving and asserting, but at the same time she is also at the mercy of the environment around her. In the same way, we, the people of Earth, are propelled by nature and the forces that came before us. Here we stand with the blood of those we have harmed, but we are still as innocent as the baby that is freshly born. We didn’t ask for this. We didn’t cause the destructions that came before our time. We can only adapt to where we are now.

Today, I drop my guilt and walk away. Just like the newborn baby innocent but yet guilty. I’ll live my life the best I can. I will take what I need and give to others as well. Each day, I will take the steps that are in front of me and I will use whatever tool I have in my hand, for myself and for those around me. What more can any of us do? What does the lord require of us, but to love mercy, to do justly and to live humbly before our god.